IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 5,119 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,119 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $5,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter worth $102,117,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the first quarter worth about $44,837,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 795.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 160,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,190,000 after purchasing an additional 142,348 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 216,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,258,000 after purchasing an additional 138,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 240,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,497,000 after purchasing an additional 81,993 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.42.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $61,719,936.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,719,936.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,333,345.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,108 shares of company stock worth $12,545,087 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE AVY opened at $207.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $165.21 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $216.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.44.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 33.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

About Avery Dennison

Avery Dennison Corporation operates as a materials science and digital identification solutions company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Latin, America, and internationally. It provides pressure-sensitive materials comprising papers, plastic films, metal foils, and fabrics; performance tapes products, including tapes for wire harnessing, as well as cable wrapping for automotive, electrical, and general industrial applications; mechanical fasteners, which are precision-extruded and injection-molded plastic devices used in various automotive, general industrial, and retail applications; and other pressure-sensitive adhesive-based materials and converted products under the Fasson, JAC, Yongle, and Avery Dennison brands.